Friday, June 01, 2007
Veterans Day
On Veterans Day, we took a patriotic tour with the USO. Our first stop was the Luxembourg American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg City. Gen. George S. Patton is buried there, along with 5,076 U.S. soldiers. Patton's cross faces those of the soldiers buried there with him. Many of these Americans gave their lives in the “Battle of the Bulge” and in the advance on the Rhine.
It was a rainy and dreary day, which added to the somber mood. It was amazing to see so many crosses and stars of David representing fallen U.S. soldiers. This view is looking across the cemetery to the chapel, which is flanked by two large stone pylons showing granite maps with inscriptions recalling the achievements of the American armed forces in this region. The photo below is of MacKenzie in front of one of the pylons, on which the names of 371 missing soldiers are inscribed.
The Veterans Day ceremony was presided over by the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg, complete with a full honor guard from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, and a bagpipe player. It was very chilly, with mist blowing near-horizontal, so Zachary ended up pushing Benjamin in his stroller toward a more protected area out of the wind until the ceremony finished up.
From there we went to the Mardasson Memorial commemorating the Battle of the Bulge near Bastogne, Belgium. It was built in 1950 and stands as a token of gratitude by the Belgian population for the liberation of the country by the American Army and the Allies. The memorial is a five-pointed star representing the star of freedom. The points on the summit surround a circular gallery leading to scale models showing different stages of the battle, one in each point of the star. The names of the 48 states which then made up the United States are engraved on the crown. Around the outside, badges from the main battalions that participated in the Battle of the Saillant, can be found. The battle’s progression is explained in English and in ten paintings on the inner walls.
The Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 16, 1944 - Jan. 28, 1945) was one of the largest battles in American history and perhaps Hitler’s greatest gamble. He believed this great German counteroffensive would divide the Allies and win the war in the West. Instead, the German Army, on the attack and vulnerable to the overwhelming superiority of American firepower, mobility, and small unit initiative, was defeated, and the Allies rolled across Central Europe and on to V-E Day.
A crypt was dug in the rock below the memorial as a reminder of the sacrifice made by the 76,890 Americans killed, injured or reported missing in the battle. Three richly-colored mosaic altars are dedicated to the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish religions.
It was so cold, windy and misty that Benjamin didn’t want to uncover himself for even a moment of the tour, as is evident by this family shot in front of the memorial.
From there, we went in search of foxholes, and found quite a few! I had to chuckle when MacKenzie asked, “Where are all the foxes?” I had to explain the term “foxhole” so she understood that we weren’t traipsing through fox territory. One thing that made an impression on me as we walked through the woods was the subtle sound of tree branches snapping. The sound made me wonder what it must have been like for World War II soldiers laying low in those foxholes to hear the sounds of snapping branches. Or, worse yet, to be the enemy soldier walking through those woods and inadvertently stepping on a twig or branch. The sounds weren’t loud since everything was damp and wet from recent rains, but they were clear enough to be heard with each step.
After our foxhole hunt, we headed to a German pillbox. Pillboxes were small machine-gun bunker positions protected by hardened fortifications of steel-reinforced concrete, often camouflaged to conceal their locations and to maximize the element of surprise. This pillbox wasn’t very large, as is evident by the ceiling just above the kids' heads when they stood inside it.
Benjamin enjoyed running around it and peering through the machine-gun window to the inside. The inscription on this pillbox pays homage to Lt. Charles Boggess, whose tank was the first to break through the German line surrounding Bastogne and marks the location where, on Dec. 26, 1944, the 4th Armored Division of Gen. Patton’s 3rd Army met with the 101st Airborne Division, thus breaking the siege of Bastogne.
It was a rainy and dreary day, which added to the somber mood. It was amazing to see so many crosses and stars of David representing fallen U.S. soldiers. This view is looking across the cemetery to the chapel, which is flanked by two large stone pylons showing granite maps with inscriptions recalling the achievements of the American armed forces in this region. The photo below is of MacKenzie in front of one of the pylons, on which the names of 371 missing soldiers are inscribed.The Veterans Day ceremony was presided over by the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg, complete with a full honor guard from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, and a bagpipe player. It was very chilly, with mist blowing near-horizontal, so Zachary ended up pushing Benjamin in his stroller toward a more protected area out of the wind until the ceremony finished up.
From there we went to the Mardasson Memorial commemorating the Battle of the Bulge near Bastogne, Belgium. It was built in 1950 and stands as a token of gratitude by the Belgian population for the liberation of the country by the American Army and the Allies. The memorial is a five-pointed star representing the star of freedom. The points on the summit surround a circular gallery leading to scale models showing different stages of the battle, one in each point of the star. The names of the 48 states which then made up the United States are engraved on the crown. Around the outside, badges from the main battalions that participated in the Battle of the Saillant, can be found. The battle’s progression is explained in English and in ten paintings on the inner walls.The Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 16, 1944 - Jan. 28, 1945) was one of the largest battles in American history and perhaps Hitler’s greatest gamble. He believed this great German counteroffensive would divide the Allies and win the war in the West. Instead, the German Army, on the attack and vulnerable to the overwhelming superiority of American firepower, mobility, and small unit initiative, was defeated, and the Allies rolled across Central Europe and on to V-E Day.
A crypt was dug in the rock below the memorial as a reminder of the sacrifice made by the 76,890 Americans killed, injured or reported missing in the battle. Three richly-colored mosaic altars are dedicated to the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish religions.It was so cold, windy and misty that Benjamin didn’t want to uncover himself for even a moment of the tour, as is evident by this family shot in front of the memorial.
From there, we went in search of foxholes, and found quite a few! I had to chuckle when MacKenzie asked, “Where are all the foxes?” I had to explain the term “foxhole” so she understood that we weren’t traipsing through fox territory. One thing that made an impression on me as we walked through the woods was the subtle sound of tree branches snapping. The sound made me wonder what it must have been like for World War II soldiers laying low in those foxholes to hear the sounds of snapping branches. Or, worse yet, to be the enemy soldier walking through those woods and inadvertently stepping on a twig or branch. The sounds weren’t loud since everything was damp and wet from recent rains, but they were clear enough to be heard with each step.
After our foxhole hunt, we headed to a German pillbox. Pillboxes were small machine-gun bunker positions protected by hardened fortifications of steel-reinforced concrete, often camouflaged to conceal their locations and to maximize the element of surprise. This pillbox wasn’t very large, as is evident by the ceiling just above the kids' heads when they stood inside it.Benjamin enjoyed running around it and peering through the machine-gun window to the inside. The inscription on this pillbox pays homage to Lt. Charles Boggess, whose tank was the first to break through the German line surrounding Bastogne and marks the location where, on Dec. 26, 1944, the 4th Armored Division of Gen. Patton’s 3rd Army met with the 101st Airborne Division, thus breaking the siege of Bastogne.
Labels: Belgium, Benjamin, Kid Quotes, Luxembourg, MacKenzie, Travel, Zachary
